Though Upstream Color is supported by many other professionals in the field of visual and audio effects, it is mainly the product of one man, Shane Carruth, who is the director, producer, writer, cinematographer, composer, and co-star. It is no secret Carruth’s films play with our minds but, though his latest film is enigmatic and…
Whether you like him or not, Lars von Trier certainly knows how to push the boundaries of what many consider bad taste. And just by looking at the title of his latest effort, Nymphomaniac, audiences should quickly realize he has no plans of slowing down. Reuniting with the controversial director is Charlotte Gainsbourg (“Antichrist“) in…
Paul (Yvan Attal) is a portrait of dishevelment in the opening scene of Phillipe André’s interesting short, Delicate Gravity. Sitting in a Vietnamese restaurant, the pages of the book he’s translating splayed across the table, his hair unkempt, Paul tells us a lot before he even says a word. We’re introduced to the guy during…
Lives briefly intersect when a backpack is whisked off in a cab without its owner in Calcutta Taxi, a fast-paced picture about chance and the importance of perspective. Highly energized at every turn, the story begins with Canadian art student Adi Chaterji (Sunnie D’Souza) about to hunt down his missing backpack in the midst of…
The fate of a newborn baby is the central focus of the movingly melancholic drama Hatch, but the child essentially adopts the role of emotional McGuffin throughout a narrative that digs deeper in its adult exploration of responsibility. Eschewing sentimentality for a plaintive poignancy, writers Karl Goldblat and Christoph Kuschnig (who also directed) divide the…
Philosopher Albert Camus said, “Good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if they lack understanding.” Indeed, we have seen many examples in history of how ideology, no matter how well intentioned, can lead to disastrous consequences if not tempered with compassion and respect for the rights of the individual. We saw it in…
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, twenty-two veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars commit suicide every day, more than die in combat itself. Many more suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and are compelled to take prescription drugs simply to be able to function. Professor Richard Davidson at The Center for Investigating Healthy…
